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Early Report from the Tomato Patch
Greetings from Zone 6B. Today was perfect tomato growing weather. It
was about 75F for the high and will be in the 50's tonight. May 5 wasn't as kind. Around 2:00 AM on the 5th, we had the worst hailstorm I have ever seen in my mear-half-a-century on this planet. Size wasn't the issue. It was duration. Here in Tennessee I have seen it hail for 3-5 minutes many times but this storm was different. We had hail for at least 15 minutes. Fortunately, the wind only served to clear some of the detritus known as the Bradford Pear. I had 16 tomato plants in the ground which ranged in size from 5 inches to 18. They all experienced some damage and some were reduced to but a single leaf. Here is the lowdown, 9 days after "the storm". I am trying something new this year I call "bucketing". Here is how it goes. Plant as deep as you can, usually 8-10 inches here. Use a large breed of plant. Once the plant reaches 12-15 inches tall, take a 1-2 gallon plastic nursery planter and put it next to the plant. Strip off the bottom leaves of the plant to the level of the top of the planter. Cut the bottom off of the planter. Fit the planter over the top of the plant. Fill planter with compost. Voila, increased root volume. So far this looks like an effective method. Storebought plants indicated by * Bucketed plants indicated by # Kentucky Beefsteak - planted 3/22 - 27 inches - trellised plant - one of two growing tips broken by hail - first buds did not set fruit - waiting to see on second - this looks like it will be a very tall plant Jeff Davis - 4/2 - 12 inches - wispy plant with 1 bud set and 1 green tomato about 1/3 inch dia. - little storm damage Russian Black# - 4/2 - 15 inches - lush plant with first bud set - bottom of plant denuded by storm Hawaiian Hybrid - 4/11 - 12 inches - this plant gets none of my tasty homemade compost as an experiment - 16 inches - splindly plant with first bud set - little storm damage Tropic - 4/2 - 14 inches - very stocky plant absolutely wrecked by storm - re-growth has been vigorous - 2 tomatoes on first bud set - 1/2 and 1 1/2 inches Neptune - 4/2 - this plant was a weak seedling with choriosis due to overwatering - lean plant but with lots of secondary growth - caged - has two bud sets just developing Mortgage Lifter# - 4/11 - 14 inches - lush plant developing first bud set - bottom denuded by storm but has really filled out since bucketing on 5/7 Super Sioux - 5/11 - seedling Neptune2 - 4/22 - 12 inches - average plant with first bud set Husky Cherry Red* - 5/1 - 4 inches - extremely stocky dwarf plant taken down to one large leaf by the storm - recovering nicely Russian Black2 - 4/22 - 4 inches - a very weak plant that was almost broken by my mishandling then trimmed down to a stem 4 inches long with a nub from where I had pruned it before the storm - believe it or not it now has a 3 inch growth from the side where the nub was Patio* - 4/26 - 10 inches - another extremely stocky dwarf plant but, oddly, virtually no storm damage - several bud sets - 3 green tomatoes 1/2 to 1 in. Mortgage Lifter Red# - 4/19 - 14 inches - Lush, powerful looking plant, prettiest one I have, imho. Bottom was denuded by storm but has responded nicely to bucketing. This plant is caged and since it is so powerful looking, I think will allow it to have 3 main stems from the bottom rather than my customary two. Super Sweet 100# - 5/1 - 6 inches - another sad story - i hate cherry tomatoes but my wife wanted some so....i waited until sunday on a beautiful weekend to get a plant and everything was extremely picked over. Wound up with a sad little plant that was actually growing up the side of the cup. You could hold the cup up to the light and see the roots. It responded nicely to being transplanted and was looking really great at about 10 inches when the storm reduced it to a single leaf. It now has two nice new shoots and is growing very rapidly. Brandywine*# - 4/19 - 24 inches - leggy potato leafed variety with lots of foliage - lost one of 3 growing tips to storm but is recovering nicely - has two new bud sets Bullsheart - 5/11 - seedling Ponderosa Red - 5/11 - seedling Mystery Plant - 5/14 - seedling - found growing next to mortgage lifter plant. probably a Juliet since that what was planted nearby last year and they are notorious for self-seeding - i hate them too but i had to see - moved it to my seedling bed I think I should be on track for my average first ripe tomato date of Jun 4 but the storm has probably lowered my early production considerably. I hope some of you will post so I can see how your tomato plants are growing. I will try to post again every month or so. It has certainly been an interesting growing season so far. Lee Hall Middle Tennessee - Zone 6B "He who hesitates is lost, and vice versa." |
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Early Report from the Tomato Patch
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#3
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Early Report from the Tomato Patch
Black Prince ripening followed by Stupice and Fireworks. Still the first tomato
to ripen in my garden is the Japanese oxheart -- which was the centerpiece of our salad last night :-) /z. |
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Early Report from the Tomato Patch
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